Will Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Hire A Nanny When Their Baby Is Born?

Royal tradition has long been that the family would hire a nanny and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will strongly consider the option.

We spoke to royal experts about what Harry and Meghan might consider during the hiring process.

At Princess Eugenie's wedding, Prince George and Princess Charlotte carried out their duties as part of the bridal party. Their parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton, looked on proudly, and not far away from the young royals was a woman who also plays a significant role in guiding and caring for them: Their nanny, Maria Borrallo.

Borrallo, like many royal nannies before her, regularly attends special events such as Eugenie's wedding. She also travels with the Cambridges all over the world, lives with them in Kensington Palace, and has become a key part of their family.

Borallo leaving Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbanks wedding in a car with Princess Charlotte and her fellow bridesmaid Teddy Williams.

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When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcome a child in the spring, the first-time parents will have to consider whether they too want to hire a caretaker. According to a report from Vanity Fair, they'll first lean on Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, for help with childcare—and Ragland is even getting a designated bedroom in Meghan and Harry's future home in Windsor. Still, they may need to hire a nanny eventually.

"Modern monarchs often undertake Commonwealth tours. Since Commonwealth tours are now shorter and involve air travel, instead of months at sea, royal children often accompany their parents," Harris says. But even though the children are present on the trip, their parents would have extensive working responsibilities, including meetings with politicians and dignitaries, and doing philanthropic work.

In the past, William and Kate have brought Prince George to Australia and New Zealand, and George and Charlotte to Canada. "[When] the children are present, the nanny travels with them to care for the children while their parents undertake official engagements," Harris says.

William, Kate and George in Australia.

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Nannies are certainly not a new tradition in royal parenting, though. Historian Robert Lacy, who served as an advisor for The Crown and is the author of The Crown: The Official Companion, told Town & Country last year that the Queen believed it was better to leave the children in the care of nannies than to bring them around the world. "She had been brought up in that style herself, after all, with her parents leaving her at home and entrusting her entire schooling to a governess and home tutors," he told Town & Country.

In 1993, Prince Charles hired Tiggy Legge-Bourke to look after Prince William and Prince Harry after Charles separated from their mother, the late Princess Diana.

Legge-Bourke with William, Harry, and Charles.

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Legge-Bourke worked with the family until 1999, and became very close with William and Harry. In May, she even attended Meghan and Harry's wedding at St. George's Chapel.

Legge-Bourke at Harry and Meghan's wedding.

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William and Kate have certainly embraced the tradition of live-in childcare, their model is similar to one that would be familiar to many working parents today: They need help caring for their children while they pursue their professional duties (in this case royal life) and social lives, but they remain hands on and affectionate parents.

Sixty years ago, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh saw the children after breakfast and teatime but "in the manner of the upper class, neither of them were physically demonstrative," author Sally Bedell-Smith, who wrote a biography of Prince Charles, told T&C. Kate Middleton, in contrast, frequently drops Prince George and Princess Charlotte off at school and both she and Prince William are seen cuddling and holding their children in public.

Meghan, of course, was not raised a royal, and some of these traditions may feel foreign, but many of her fellow actors relied on childcare as they continued their professional careers. Marlene Koenig, a royal historian and Royal Musings blogger, suspects that Meghan will likely follow in Kate's footsteps of taking maternity leave and hiring part-time help in the first few months of motherhood.

"[When George was born], William hired Jessie Webb, one of his former nannies," Koenig says. "When her contract was up, Borrallo was hired."

Borrallo with Prince George when he was a toddler.

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So, who might Meghan and Harry hire? Harris and Koenig agree that whoever gets the job will be highly-qualified and recommended by close family and friends. Most elite nannies, like Borallo, graduate from the prestigious Norland College in Bath, which offers an Early Years Development and Learning degree.

"Grandparents have been important to upbringing of royal children for centuries," Harris says. "Prince Charles became very close to his grandmother, the Queen Mother, while the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh undertook long Commonwealth tours. Carole Middleton has been photographed spending time with her grandchildren. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will likely have a combination of a nanny and grandparent involved in the upbringing of their baby."

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